Green 10 position on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership/TTIP

Green 10 position on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership/TTIP

The limited information emerging from the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations reveals the risk that this transatlantic project will reverse recent environmental and social achievements in Europe, and make future environmental and social progress more difficult on both sides of the North Atlantic.

The Green 10 consider that:

1. TTIP must not contain any investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions. There should also be no Regulatory Cooperation Council and no deeper regulatory cooperation in areas where environmental policy could be weakened and made secondary to trade policies.
2. The European Commission must provide a comprehensive analysis of all costs, benefits, and other impacts, undertaken by an independent third party, clarifying the uncertain economic and employment gains
3. The Commission also needs to provide a concise environmental and sustainability impact assessment that quantifies the environmental impact of increased trade between Europe and the U.S and takes account of the impact of TTIP on environment-related standard-setting processes.
4. In order to seriously consider these impact assessments, a pause in negotiations would be necessary in order to take stock and, in the light of the assessments and public consultations, consider whether continuation of the negotiations is justified.
5. As this trade agreement goes beyond tariff and quota dismantling and challenges existing and future democratic regulations, the trade agreement must be discussed in total transparency with public access to all negotiating texts, for a fully transparent and informed public debate

The Green 10 furthermore insist that any EU-US trade agreement adheres to the following principles to ensure the protection of human health and the environment:

1. support to the highest environmental and health standards, for example mandatory labelling of ingredients and production methods;
2. application of the precautionary principle to protect health and the environment, and to stimulate innovation towards clean and resource efficient production;
3. full parliamentary approvals in Europe of the agreement and any subsequent amendment

Should the final TTIP agreement fail on these points, the Green 10 will urge the European Parliament and Member States to reject the agreement.